The field of the disclosure relates generally to air traffic management, and more particularly to generating and relaying ground traffic instructions to an onboard user interface.
As the air travel system becomes saturated, airports are becoming more and more congested. At the busiest airports, it is not uncommon to have 50 or more aircraft taxiing to and from multiple active runways using complex routes involving many different taxiways. System capacity is at or near saturation even during good weather conditions. After an aircraft lands on a runway at an airport, the next step is to taxi the aircraft to a desired destination such as a passenger loading/unloading gate. Ground taxi may add over one hour to travel time for any particular flight, which may be especially true during poor weather conditions. As visibility drops, the number of aircraft that can operate at a given airport decreases rapidly and those aircraft still operating must slow down so as not to miss a turn or a hold short point, or taxi across an active runway without clearance.
A variety of methods are currently in use for aircrews to navigate on the ground. Some known methods includes receiving verbal instructions from air traffic control personnel, writing the instructions down and interpreting those instructions by viewing a paper map of the airport. More specifically, the controller is responsible for coordinating airplane movements on the airport surface by transmitting taxi instructions to the flight crews. These instructions include a series of taxi ‘legs’ that form a taxi route, and may also include other information pertinent to the taxi route, such as for example hold short instructions. The taxi instructions may be complex, and are typically transmitted verbally to the flight crew. Ground controller workload may be high during busy times as an individual controller may be coordinating multiple airplanes simultaneously.
To effectively use such methods, the pilot must direct attention from outside the aircraft to inside the aircraft, and simultaneously transition from verbal instructions to a visual interpretation of those instructions while looking at a paper airport diagram. A pilot may become confused or lost amid the many runways, taxiways, ramps, and buildings that make up an airport. The problem is more significant at large airports and is particularly significant at night when the multitude of lights can make it more difficult to taxi the aircraft to the desired destination. During low visibility, the aircrew may lose its ability to use forward and peripheral vision because ground references and other airport traffic become harder to see or become obstructed, forcing the aircrew to concentrate their attention outside the aircraft to ensure safe operations. Recently, some other known devices have enabled aircrews to electronically display and orient the airport map and even show the aircraft position on the map.